NIC Veterans Services awarded $8,376 grant

North Idaho College has
been awarded a grant worth $8,376.22 in Home Depot gift cards, which will be
used to make improvements to the NIC Veterans Center.

“The SPA Home Depot grant
will allow the Veterans Resource Center to make the most of the very small
space we have for 400-plus veteran students at NIC,” said Greg Nichols, NIC
Veterans Club president and SVA Chapter leader. “The new and improved Veterans
Resource Center will have the potential to become a more functional and
inviting place for veteran students.”

Student
Veterans of America awarded $400,000 in total grants from The Home Depot
Foundation to 50 student veteran-led chapters at colleges and universities
across the country. The grants are designed to help build, renovate or
improve on-campus veterans' resource center space.

Recognized
as an institutional best practice by SVA and other prominent leaders in the
veteran education space, including the American Council on Education, resource
centers have been shown to directly contribute to student veterans' successful
academic outcomes.

“We’ll use the gift cards
for several needed improvements in the center like cabinets, a refrigerator, a
microwave, couch, chair, bulletin boards, etc.,” said Kecia Siegel, NIC
veterans coordinator. “We’re extremely grateful for this grant award.”

In
response to substantial demands for this resource, and as part of SVA's
continued advocacy of both peer- and campus-based support, SVA partnered with
The Home Depot Foundation, to launch the Vet Center Initiative (VCI) grant
program in 2014.

“As
thousands of military veterans return to college campuses this fall, eager
to re-integrate into society and jump-start their college education, the
promise of a dedicated space that they can call home on campus is important,”
said D. Wayne Robinson, Student Veterans of America president and CEO.
“Veterans Centers are critical in helping to empower veterans on campus. The
Home Depot’s commitment will build pathways of opportunity for the next
generation of student veterans and ensure the success of America's economic
future.”

Through
the Vet Center Initiative, Home Depot gift cards are awarded to grantees
through a competitive application and review process.

“We
employ more than 35,000 veterans, so we are very familiar with the strengths
they can bring to the civilian workforce,” said Gaven Gregory, executive director
of The Home Depot Foundation. “We’re excited to partner with SVA once again to
improve student resource centers on campuses across the country so that student
veterans will have access to the services and support they need to focus on
their education and make a smooth transition to their civilian lives.”